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Brexit Literature Update 02/2018

21-02-2018

Following a relevant request by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs has been compiling, on a regular basis, academic and scholarly material related to the process of, and the negotiations on, the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. Since the June 2016 referendum in the UK, Brexit-related literature has grown significantly and it is probably going to expand further in the future. Thus, this compilation is far from exhaustive; ...

Following a relevant request by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs has been compiling, on a regular basis, academic and scholarly material related to the process of, and the negotiations on, the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. Since the June 2016 referendum in the UK, Brexit-related literature has grown significantly and it is probably going to expand further in the future. Thus, this compilation is far from exhaustive; rather, it identifies some of the more useful articles, taking into account, in particular, the following elements:
• Scholarly rather than a journalistic character of the publication
• Originality and interest
• Recent publication
• Be of interest for the EU
• Constitutional or institutional relevance.

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Spirit drinks: Definition, labelling and geographical indications

21-02-2018

In December 2016, the European Commission proposed to replace Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 – the Spirit Drinks Regulation – with a new one, with the aim of aligning it with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The proposal mainly involves grouping the provisions adopted by the Commission into delegated and implementing acts. In addition, it replaces the existing procedures for the protection of geographical indications (GIs) of spirit drinks with new ones, modelled on the recently ...

In December 2016, the European Commission proposed to replace Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 – the Spirit Drinks Regulation – with a new one, with the aim of aligning it with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The proposal mainly involves grouping the provisions adopted by the Commission into delegated and implementing acts. In addition, it replaces the existing procedures for the protection of geographical indications (GIs) of spirit drinks with new ones, modelled on the recently updated procedures for quality schemes applied to agricultural products and foodstuffs. According to spirits industry representatives, the proposal contains some substantive changes that need to be studied in detail to determine their impact. The procedure is still in its initial stages. The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted its report on 24 January 2018. A mandate on opening interinstitutional negotiations is expected to be voted during the February II plenary. Second edition. The ‘EU Legislation in Progress’ briefings are updated at key stages throughout the legislative procedure. Please note this document has been designed for on-line viewing.

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Motor vehicles: new approval and market surveillance rules

21-02-2018

The automotive industry is a major player in the European economy, accounting for 6.4% of gross domestic product and 2.3 million jobs in the European Union (EU). In September 2015, the Volkswagen (VW) case highlighted weaknesses in the implementation of type-approval rules for motor vehicles in the European Union, in particular as regards standards on emissions of air pollutants and carbon dioxide. In 2016, as part of preparations from previous years but also in response to the VW case, the European ...

The automotive industry is a major player in the European economy, accounting for 6.4% of gross domestic product and 2.3 million jobs in the European Union (EU). In September 2015, the Volkswagen (VW) case highlighted weaknesses in the implementation of type-approval rules for motor vehicles in the European Union, in particular as regards standards on emissions of air pollutants and carbon dioxide. In 2016, as part of preparations from previous years but also in response to the VW case, the European Commission proposed strengthening the type-approval system for motor vehicles. Its goal is to ensure effective enforcement of rules (including through market surveillance), to strengthen the quality and independence of technical tests and to introduce EU oversight on the type-approval process.

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Tax transparency for intermediaries

21-02-2018

The situations highlighted by the 'Panama papers' and 'Paradise papers', among others leaks show how certain intermediaries and other providers of tax advice appear to have facilitated companies and individuals in avoiding taxation, often through complex cross-border schemes involving routing assets to, or through, offshore entities. Among the tools to fight tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning are established mechanisms for disclosure of tax information and publication of tax-relevant information ...

The situations highlighted by the 'Panama papers' and 'Paradise papers', among others leaks show how certain intermediaries and other providers of tax advice appear to have facilitated companies and individuals in avoiding taxation, often through complex cross-border schemes involving routing assets to, or through, offshore entities. Among the tools to fight tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning are established mechanisms for disclosure of tax information and publication of tax-relevant information by companies. In June 2017, the Commission adopted a proposal aimed at ensuring early information on such situations, by setting an obligation to report cross-border arrangements designed by tax intermediaries or taxpayers and by including the information collected in the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities within the European Union. The proposal responds to calls made by both the European Parliament and the Council. Second edition. The 'EU Legislation in Progress' briefings are updated at key stages throughout the legislative procedure.

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The European Council and the Multiannual Financial Framework

21-02-2018

With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the MFF was for the first time given a legal basis in the EU Treaties and a new procedure was introduced for its adoption. The MFF is now laid down in a regulation adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure, once European Parliament consent is obtained. The post-2020 MFF process will represent the second full application of this new procedure, following the negotiations on the MFF for 2014-2020. The Treaty of ...

With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the MFF was for the first time given a legal basis in the EU Treaties and a new procedure was introduced for its adoption. The MFF is now laid down in a regulation adopted by the Council, acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure, once European Parliament consent is obtained. The post-2020 MFF process will represent the second full application of this new procedure, following the negotiations on the MFF for 2014-2020. The Treaty of Lisbon also established the European Council as one of the seven institutions of the European Union and defined its role and powers. In accordance with Article 15(1) TEU, the European Council 'shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define the general political directions and priorities thereof'. Moreover, the European Council 'shall not exercise legislative functions'. Notwithstanding this prohibition on the exercise of legislative functions, and despite the lack of a formal role assigned to it in the financial provisions of the Treaties (Articles 310 to 324 TFEU), the European Council – as was already the case prior to the Lisbon Treaty – played a central role in the 2014-2020 MFF negotiation. Acting on the basis of its competence to 'define the general political directions and priorities', the European Council adopted detailed conclusions on the MFF, which purported to define the MFF ceilings and the financial envelopes for all policy sectors for the seven-year MFF period. In its resolution of 15 April 2014 on the lessons to be learned from the 2014-2020 negotiations, the European Parliament identified the impact of the European Council's involvement in the Parliament's legislative prerogatives as a matter of particular concern. The aspects most often considered when assessing the MFF and its negotiation process are the overall size of the budget, own resources, national bargaining positions, and the tensions between net beneficiary and net contributor countries. To date, only limited attention has been paid to the role of the European Council. This Briefing analyses the European Council's involvement in the process of adopting the 2014-2020 MFF during the different negotiation phases and outlines the concerns expressed by the Parliament in this respect. It also provides an indicative timeline and potential milestones for the post-2020 MFF negotiations and looks at the possible role of the European Council in this process, thereby attempting an initial assessment of possible similarities with and differences to the 2014-2020 MFF negotiations.

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Stronger Bacteria. Weaker Antimicrobial, The fight against antimicrobial resistance in Europe through research, and the Andalusian PIRASOA program. Two examples of examples of success still to be completed

11-01-2018

The research is the key to the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance, but funding against the AMR in Europe is not acceptable because of the magnitude of the heath problem. In this context, in Andalusia (Spain), the PIRASOA Programme has been successfully implemented and developed, integrated into the daily clinical practice. The preliminary outcomes show a reduction of antimicrobial consumption and antimicrobial resistance and an improvement of antimicrobial prescription profile and. However, it ...

The research is the key to the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance, but funding against the AMR in Europe is not acceptable because of the magnitude of the heath problem. In this context, in Andalusia (Spain), the PIRASOA Programme has been successfully implemented and developed, integrated into the daily clinical practice. The preliminary outcomes show a reduction of antimicrobial consumption and antimicrobial resistance and an improvement of antimicrobial prescription profile and. However, it is necessary to maintain professional motivation and more technical and human resources.

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An economic recovery with little sign of inflation acceleration: A transitory phenomenon or evidence of a structural change?

15-02-2018

This paper investigates the possibility that there has been a structural shift in inflation (upward) in the euro area since the recovery in 2014 or 2015. From the perspective of policy, it is important to be sure that any such shifts are significant statistically, sustained or likely to be sustained (durable) over the near future, and are evenly distributed over the member economies so that no one of them is damaged by anti-inflation measures taken to help the others.
We approach the problem in two ...

This paper investigates the possibility that there has been a structural shift in inflation (upward) in the euro area since the recovery in 2014 or 2015. From the perspective of policy, it is important to be sure that any such shifts are significant statistically, sustained or likely to be sustained (durable) over the near future, and are evenly distributed over the member economies so that no one of them is damaged by anti-inflation measures taken to help the others.
We approach the problem in two steps: we first examine the circumstantial and informal evidence, and then conduct formal statistical tests for structural changes in euro area inflation in 2015 or 2016. We find no evidence of a structural change under the four criteria mentioned. The even distribution of inflation criterion is the closest to being satisfied, but the other three are far from satisfied in any formal sense. There was a brief acceleration in inflation in mid-2016 towards 2%, but it flattened out in 2017 and has been constant at 1.5% ever since. Core inflation was constant at 0.9% throughout.
The question is why has there been no inflation in the recovery and how long is that likely to last? In a third step, we explain how low growth in real wages and self-reinforcing low productivity growth produces slow output growth and low inflation. This model fits the data pretty well, down to the lack of labour and total factor productivity and to substituting cheaper labour for excess capital stock. It implies a fall in investment spending (also seen in the data) which in turn extends the period for which low productivity-low inflation outcomes apply.

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Why does the recovery show so little inflation?

15-02-2018

We investigate the determinants of inflation in the euro area since 2000 and show that the most important determinants are inflation expectations and wage growth. Both indicators have contributed negatively to inflation since 2014 but inflation expectations less so since 2015 whereas the contribution of wage growth has remained negative. We suggest that structural reforms may have put a drag on the ability of the ECB to reach its inflation target rapidly.

We investigate the determinants of inflation in the euro area since 2000 and show that the most important determinants are inflation expectations and wage growth. Both indicators have contributed negatively to inflation since 2014 but inflation expectations less so since 2015 whereas the contribution of wage growth has remained negative. We suggest that structural reforms may have put a drag on the ability of the ECB to reach its inflation target rapidly.

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Limits and Potentials of the Public Health Programme

15-12-2017

This document summarises the presentations and discussion taking place at the workshop organised by Policy Department A on the limits and opportunities of the Third Public Health Programme, held at the European Parliament in Brussels.
The aim of the workshop was to inform the Members of the ENVI Committee and all participants on the limits and potentials of the Public Health Programme, and to have an overview of the outcomes and impact the Third Health Programme had for EU institutions, Member States ...

This document summarises the presentations and discussion taking place at the workshop organised by Policy Department A on the limits and opportunities of the Third Public Health Programme, held at the European Parliament in Brussels.
The aim of the workshop was to inform the Members of the ENVI Committee and all participants on the limits and potentials of the Public Health Programme, and to have an overview of the outcomes and impact the Third Health Programme had for EU institutions, Member States and individual organisations/projects in its first half (2014-2017).
Firstly, the institutional perspectives from DG SANTE and Chafea were presented. The results of the mid-term evaluation of the Programme were discussed, both emphasising the overall positive result of the evaluation and highlighting the areas of improvement and lessons learnt from the two previous health programmes. Next steps to overcome the current limits were also outlined. Secondly, the focus was on the experience of Member States, which confirmed the value of the Programme for their National contexts, insisting, however, on the need to increase the available budget in order to achieve the targeted objectives. Finally, presentations were given by organisations and projects that have successfully utilised funds from the Health Programme.

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Research for TRAN Committee - Battery-powered electric vehicles: market development and lifecycle emissions

15-02-2018

As 2018 gets under way, there are probably more than three million electric cars in circulation in the world. There are also more than six hundred million electric bikes, scooters and motorcycles. Plus a few hundred thousand electric buses and other types of quadricycles having an electric motor. The first part of this paper traces the fast evolving market of electric road vehicles.
The second part shows that the production of hundreds of millions of battery packs requires a lot of energy and plenty ...

As 2018 gets under way, there are probably more than three million electric cars in circulation in the world. There are also more than six hundred million electric bikes, scooters and motorcycles. Plus a few hundred thousand electric buses and other types of quadricycles having an electric motor. The first part of this paper traces the fast evolving market of electric road vehicles.
The second part shows that the production of hundreds of millions of battery packs requires a lot of energy and plenty of scarce resources, which affects the real impact of electric vehicles on the climate and the environment and make it necessary to consider the recovery and recycling of used batteries.

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